Footwear



Patented Mar. 2, 1937 NETE@ STATES PATENT @FFIE FOOTWEAR Herman A.Wuiff, St. Paul, Minn.

Application March 2, 1936, Serial No. 66,719

l Cla-iin.`

This invention relates to footwear and its general object is to providea sole designed for shoes and sandals, that includes a plurality of iiatsections formed from wood or the like, exibly connected together infitting end to end relation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sectional wooden solewith means extending through each section for flexibly connecting thesections together in a manner to allow expansion l and contractionthereof and so that each section is capable of individual movement tofacilitate natural walking, as well as comfort to the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe or the like,including a flexibie sole, that l is simple in construction, inexpensiveto manufacture and extremely efcient in use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing andspecifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing my invention in detaii, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawin wherein like characters denote like or correspondingparts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through a sandalconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken approximately on line 2 2 of Figurel, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approxi` mately on line 3 3 of Figurel, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that the sole ismade up of a plurality of sections, preferably four in number. However,any number of sections may be employed without departing from the spiritof the invention. The

sections are of various shapes in order to provide a sole of the usualfoot fitting shape and the heel section which is indicated by thereference numeral l is relatively narrow and is provided with roundedsides and rear end. All of the sections are relatively thick and flat,and the heel section is provided with a straight forward end to t theadjacent end of the instep section 2 that contacts the ball section 3which in turn has its forward end contacting the rear end of the toesection 4, the latter having a flat front end for a purpose which willbe presently apparent. Each of the sections have the upper edges of theconfronting ends rounded as best shown in Fig- (Cl. Bti-11.5)

ure 1, to allow a slight rolling action between the upper edges as willbe apparent.

Each of the sections is provided with a pair of spaced parallel boresextending longitudinally therethrough for the purpose of receiving theparallel portions 5 of a single strand of wire that is looped uponitself to provide a straight rear portion E arranged at right angles toand merging into the parallel portions 5 which are threaded through thebores and have their forward ends bent toward each other and rearwardlyinclined to provide fastening means in the form of hooks l. The wire ispreferably of the resilient type, con sequently it will be seen that thesections are flexibly connected together in a manner to allow slightindividual movement thereof and the hooks allow expansion andcontraction of the sections, as will be apparent.

The upper of the sandal as shown, includes a heel piece 8 that has itslower edge secured to and following the rounded sides and rear endthereof, the latter having arranged therein a groove within which isdisposed the straight portion G and the rear portion of the heel piece,with the straight portion 6 holding the same within the groove, whilethe remaining portion of the heel piece is xed to the heel section bynails or the like 9. The heel piece extends into strap members it fordisposal about the instep of the wearer and the strap members have theirends. secured together through the instrumentality of a buckle Il.

The toe portion of the upper includes a saddle member l2 that has itslower ends xed to the ball section and toe section by nails or the likeas shown, and a toe strap I3 provided with a loop I4 at its rear end toreceive the saddle member, has its forward end connected to the flatforward end of the toe section by nails as shown, which likewise securea metallic strip l 5 to the flat forward end, with the toe strap betweenthe toe section and the strip. The strip acts as an abutment plate forthe inner ends of the hook 1.

While I have shown the saddle member as including two individual piecesconnected together by buckle means I6, it may consist of a single pieceonly.

From the above description and disclosure of the drawing, it will beobvious that I have provided a sole that is formed from sections of woodor the like, exibly connected together by resilient means to allowindividual movement of the sections to facilitate natural walking, aswell as to provide comfort in footwear of this character.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of my invention Will be readily apparent.

I desire it to be understood that I may make changes in the constructionand in the combina tion and arrangement of the several parts, providedthat such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A sandal comprising a sole including a plural- 10 ity of Wooden sectionsarranged in end to end relation and being relatively thick and at withrounded upper edges for the confronting ends thereof, means extendinglongitudinally through the sections for flexibly connecting the sectionstogether for individual movement, an upper for the sole and including aheel piece and a toe piece, means cooperating with the rst mentionedmeans for securing the heel piece and toe piece to the sole, instepstrap means for the heel piece and means for detachably securing theinstep strap means together.

HERMAN A. WULFF.

